Section 2: Interpretation

2. Interpretation In this Act— “agent of a foreign pool promoter” means a licensee which issues or receives pool coupons or other forms together with stake money on behalf of a foreign pool promoter; [Issue 9] G2 – 4 Revised Laws of Mauritius “amusement machine” means an electromechanical or other device which, on insertion of a coin, bank note, electronic credit, token or similar object or on payment of any other consideration, enables any person to play a game whereby the person, by reason of skill or of skill coupled with an element of chance, may win a prize which is limited to— (a) more than one opportunity to play a further game; (b) one or more non-cash prizes with a combined retail monetary value not exceeding 500 rupees or such other amount as may be prescribed; (c) tickets or tokens redeemable for one or more non-cash prizes with a combined retail monetary value not exceeding 500 rupees or such other amount as may be prescribed; or (d) cash equivalent to the amount the player inserts in the machine to play; “Authority” means the Gambling Regulatory Authority established under section 3; “bet” means— (a) stake, or stake on behalf of another person; or (b) expressly or impliedly, undertake, promise or agree to stake on behalf of another person, any money or money’s worth on any event or contingency; “Board” means the Gambling Regulatory Board referred to in section 5; “bookmaker” means a licensee who receives or negotiates bets on the basis of fixed odds on the result of an event or contingency; “bookmaker’s clerk” means a person registered as such under section 49; “casino” means any premises approved by the Board, where casino games are played or are available to be played; “casino game” means any game specified in Part I of the First Schedule; “casino operator” means a company licensed to operate a casino; “Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Board; “Chief Executive” means the Chief Executive of the Authority referred to in section 13; “collector” means a licensee who issues or receives pool coupons or other forms together with stake money on behalf of a local pool promoter or an agent of a foreign pool promoter; “Director-General” means the Director-General of the Mauritius Revenue Authority; “duty”— (a) means the duty payable under section 114 (5), (6) and (7); and G2 – 5 [Issue 9] Gambling Regulatory Authority Act (b) includes any penalty and any interest imposed under this Act; but (c) does not include any fine; “employee” means a person employed by the Authority pursuant to section 14; “event or contingency” means— (a) any sporting event; or (b) any prescribed event or contingency, the outcome of which is uncertain or unknown to any person; “financial institution” has the same meaning as in the Banking Act; “FIU” has the same meaning as in the Financial Intelligence and AntiMoney Laundering Act; “fixed odds bet” means a bet on any event or contingency in which odds are agreed at the time the bet is placed; “foreign pool promoter” means a licensee who carries on the business involving the receiving or negotiating bets by way of pool betting outside Mauritius in relation to sporting or other events taking place outside Mauritius; “foreign race” means a horse race organised at a racecourse outside Mauritius; “foreign race inter-totalisator betting” means betting through a totalisator in Mauritius on a foreign race, where the money bet on each pool is combined with the money bet on the corresponding pool of an organisa oter” means a licensee who carries on the business involving the receiving or negotiating bets by way of pool betting outside Mauritius in relation to sporting or other events taking place outside Mauritius; “foreign race” means a horse race organised at a racecourse outside Mauritius; “foreign race inter-totalisator betting” means betting through a totalisator in Mauritius on a foreign race, where the money bet on each pool is combined with the money bet on the corresponding pool of an organisation operating outside Mauritius and conducting totalisator betting on the foreign race to form one pool, from which the dividends are calculated, declared and paid; “gambling”— (a) means paying or staking consideration, directly or indirectly, on the outcome of something with a view to winning money when the outcome depends wholly or partly on chance; and (b) includes— (i) playing any casino game, gaming house game or on any gaming machine or limited payout machine; (ii) pool betting; and (iii) betting, paying, or staking consideration on the outcome of any event or contingency; “gaming house” means any premises approved by the Board where gaming house games are played or are available to be played; “gaming house game” means any game specified in Part II or III of the First Schedule; [Issue 9] G2 – 6 Revised Laws of Mauritius “gaming house operator” means, in the case of— (a) a gaming house “A” licence, a company licensed to operate the gaming house; or (b) a gaming house “B” licence, any person licensed to operate the gaming house; “gaming machine”— (a) means an electro-mechanical or other device which, on insertion of a coin, bank note, electronic credit, token or similar object or on payment of any other consideration, is available to be played or operated and the playing or operation of which, by reason of the skill of the player or operator or through an element of chance or both, may deliver, or entitle the person playing or operating the machine, or any other person, to receive cash, cheques, credit, electronic credits, debits, tokens, tickets or prizes; and (b) includes a machine— (i) which produces a random combination of symbols on reels; or (ii) on which a player is able to play roulette, bingo, 21, blackjack, chemin de fer, baccarat, poker, Chinese roulette, keno or on horse racing or games of similar type; but (c) does not include an amusement machine or limited payout machine; “gaming machine operator” means a person licensed to operate a gaming machine; “gaming machine technician” means a person employed by a casino operator or gaming machine operator for the purpose of— (a) assisting a customer to operate a gaming machine; or (b) maintaining, repairing or servicing a gaming machine; “General Fund” means the General Fund set up under section 11; “horse race” includes the conduct or presentation of any form of racing in which horses participate; “horse racing organiser” means a body of persons registered in Mauritius set up with the object of organising horse races in Mauritius; “inspector”— (a) means a person employed as such by the Authority under section 14 (1); and (b) includes— (i) any person authorised in writing by the Chief Executive under section 14 (2); and (ii) the Director-General or any officer under the Mauritius Revenue Authority Act, authorised in writing by the Director-General to act as inspector; G2 – 7 [Issue 9] Gambling Regulatory Authority Act “interactive gambling” means any prescribed game, whether by way of f organising horse races in Mauritius; “inspector”— (a) means a person employed as such by the Authority under section 14 (1); and (b) includes— (i) any person authorised in writing by the Chief Executive under section 14 (2); and (ii) the Director-General or any officer under the Mauritius Revenue Authority Act, authorised in writing by the Director-General to act as inspector; G2 – 7 [Issue 9] Gambling Regulatory Authority Act “interactive gambling” means any prescribed game, whether by way of virtual online gambling or gambling on a separate physical event, that involves an element of chance and an element of skill or an element of chance only, played or available to be played through the internet or such other electronic communication system as may be approved by the Board; “interactive gambling operator” means a company licensed under this Act to operate interactive gambling; “jockey”— (a) means a person qualified to ride horses; and (b) includes an apprentice jockey; “levy” means the levy payable under section 114; “licence” means any licence issued under this Act; “licensee”(cid:3)means a person issued with a licence; “limited payout machine” means an electromechanical machine or other device which complies with such technical standards as may be prescribed and which, on insertion of a coin, bank note, electronic credit, token or similar object or on payment of any other consideration, enables a person to play a game approved by the Authority, whereby the person, by reason of skill, or through an element of chance or both, receives electronic credits, tokens or tickets which are exchangeable in return for prizes and which are limited to— (a) one opportunity or more to play a further game; (b) electronic credits, tokens or tickets for one or more cash prizes with a combined retail monetary value not exceeding 3,000 rupees or such other amount as may be prescribed; or (c) cash equivalent to the amount the person inserts in the machine; “limited payout machine operator” means a person licensed to operate a limited payout machine; “limited payout machine technician” means a person employed by a limited payout machine operator for the purpose of— (a) assisting a customer to operate a limited payout machine; or (b) maintaining, repairing or servicing a limited payout machine; “local pool promoter” means a licensee who carries on the business involving the receiving or negotiating of bets by way of pool betting in Mauritius; “local race” means a horse race organised at a racecourse in Mauritius; “local race inter-totalisator betting” means betting through a totalisator on a local race, where the money bet on each pool of an organisation operating outside Mauritius and conducting such betting is combined with the money bet on the corresponding pool of the totalisator in Mauritius to form one pool, from which the dividends are calculated, declared and paid; [Issue 9] G2 – 8 Revised Laws of Mauritius “lottery”— (a) means a scheme or device for the distribution by chance of prizes or of any right to, or share in, a prize depending upon, or to be determined by, lot or drawing, whether out of a box or other receptacle, or by cards, token, coin or dice, or by any machine, ticket, envelope or device or any other chance whatsoever, where, in order to participate in the scheme or device, a person is required to hold a ticket which he has to purchase, or obtains freely or on purchase of goods or services or is given a right to the chance by any ot istribution by chance of prizes or of any right to, or share in, a prize depending upon, or to be determined by, lot or drawing, whether out of a box or other receptacle, or by cards, token, coin or dice, or by any machine, ticket, envelope or device or any other chance whatsoever, where, in order to participate in the scheme or device, a person is required to hold a ticket which he has to purchase, or obtains freely or on purchase of goods or services or is given a right to the chance by any other means; and (b) includes a competition scheme for the distribution of prizes, or of any right to, or share in, a prize where— (i) in order to participate in the scheme, a person is required— (A) to fill an entry form, which he obtains freely, whether on purchase of goods or services or not; or (B) to use a remote communication system; and (ii) the distribution depends, at any stage of the scheme, upon a genuine or purported display of knowledge or skill, notwithstanding that the distribution also depends, at some stage of the scheme, on an element of chance; but (c) does not include Government lotteries, sweepstakes, or lottery games; “Lottery Committee” means the Lottery Committee referred to in section 86; “lottery game” means any game, scheme, system, plan, promotion, competition, instant-win game other than instant lottery game organised in connection with trade promotion, online lottery or other arrangement for distributing prizes by lot or by chance, as may be prescribed to form part of the Mauritius National Lottery; “lottery retailer” means a person who holds a registration certificate under Sub-Part B of Part XV; “Lotto Fund” means the Lotto Fund set up under section 85; “Managing Committee” means the Managing Committee referred to in section 11B; “Mauritius National Lottery” means the lottery games that are prescribed to form part of the Mauritius National Lottery; “Mauritius Revenue Authority” means the Mauritius Revenue Authority established under the Mauritius Revenue Authority Act; “member”— (a) means a member of the Board; and (b) includes the Chairperson and the Vice-chairperson; G2 – 9 [Issue 9] Gambling Regulatory Authority Act “Minister” means the Minister to whom responsibility for the subject of the Gambling Regulatory Authority is assigned; “National Solidarity Fund” means the National Solidarity Fund established under the National Solidarity Fund Act; “Operator” means a company promoted by the State Investment Corporation Ltd and licensed to operate the Mauritius National Lottery and video lottery terminals; “pool betting”— (a) means a form of betting where— (i) a person participates in a competition for making a forecast on any event or contingency on coupons or other forms in any manner as the Board may approve; (ii) a person pays stakes for his participation; and (iii) the stakes for each competition are aggregated and dividends are declared and paid to winners on the result of any event or contingency and determined by reference to the stake money paid by those persons; but (b) does not include lottery games; “premises” includes any house, building, ship, boat, vehicle and any open or enclosed area; “promoter’s commission”, in relation to pool betting, means the amount by which the aggregate total stakes in all the competitions exceed the sum of— (a) the aggregate prizes in the competitions; (b) the aggregate pool betting duty and tax payable in respect of the competitions; and (c) the expenses actually incurred by t ce to the stake money paid by those persons; but (b) does not include lottery games; “premises” includes any house, building, ship, boat, vehicle and any open or enclosed area; “promoter’s commission”, in relation to pool betting, means the amount by which the aggregate total stakes in all the competitions exceed the sum of— (a) the aggregate prizes in the competitions; (b) the aggregate pool betting duty and tax payable in respect of the competitions; and (c) the expenses actually incurred by the promoter in the conduct of the competitions, excluding any expenses properly chargeable to capital and any interest on borrowed money, and in particular, excluding any provision for depreciation of buildings or equipment, any emoluments payable to the promoter, or any emoluments payable to any other person whether or not those emoluments depend to any extent on the profits of the promoter; “punter” means a person who places a bet with a bookmaker or totalisator operator; “racecourse” means premises approved by the Board, which are designed, used or adapted for use for horse racing; “race meeting” means an event at which horse races are conducted at a racecourse; [Issue 9] G2 – 10 Revised Laws of Mauritius “racing steward” means a person to whom responsibility is assigned by a horse racing organiser for detecting and sanctioning any malpractice in horse racing; “remote communication” means communication using the internet, telephone or such other electronic communication system as the Board may approve; “Responsible Gambling and Capacity Building Fund” means the Responsible Gambling and Capacity Building Fund set up under section 11A; “Revenue Laws” has the same meaning as in the Mauritius Revenue Authority Act; “Rules of Racing” means the Rules of Racing made by a horse racing organiser governing the organisation, conduct, regulation, control, supervision and management of horse racing; “sporting event” means horse race, football league, cricket league or other sporting event as the Board may approve which takes place outside Mauritius, or such other sporting event as may be prescribed; “stand”, in relation to a racecourse in Mauritius, means an area where the public is admitted on presentation of an admission ticket issued by a horse racing organiser; “sweepstake” means a form of lottery where the winner is determined by a draw and on the result of a horse race organised by a horse racing organiser; “sweepstake organiser” means a company licensed to organise sweepstakes; “tax”— (a) means the tax payable under section 114 (1), (2) and (3) (b); and (cid:3) (b) includes—(cid:3) (i) any sum due under section 60 (1A); and (ii) any penalty and any interest imposed under this Act; but (c) does not include any fine; “totalisator”— (a) means a scheme or system by means of which bets are accepted and aggregated and dividends are calculated, declared and paid on a proportional basis dependent on the result of a horse race or a series of horse races in accordance with such formulae as the Board may approve; and (b) includes a device, instrument, machine, computer or other thing used to effect the aggregation of bets and the distribution of dividends; G2 – 10 (1) [Issue 9] Gambling Regulatory Authority Act “totalisator operator” means a public company licensed under this Act to operate a totalisator; “video lottery terminal” or “VLT”— (a) means an electromechanical machine which, on insertion of a coin, bank note, electronic credit, token or similar objec with such formulae as the Board may approve; and (b) includes a device, instrument, machine, computer or other thing used to effect the aggregation of bets and the distribution of dividends; G2 – 10 (1) [Issue 9] Gambling Regulatory Authority Act “totalisator operator” means a public company licensed under this Act to operate a totalisator; “video lottery terminal” or “VLT”— (a) means an electromechanical machine which, on insertion of a coin, bank note, electronic credit, token or similar object or by means of a voucher or on payment of any other consideration, enables a person to play a game whereby the person receives vouchers or tickets representing cash prizes won, based on the determination of the video lottery central computer system; and (b) includes an electromechanical machine to play— (i) a game where players compete against each other from the same set of numbers for a common prize; (ii) a random-number generated game where each game is at random and is generated by the video lottery central computer system; and (iii) an electric-instant lottery game which is similar to a paperbased scratch lottery card delivered electronically through the video lottery machine; but (c) does not include an amusement machine, a limited payout machine or a gambling machine. [S. 2 amended by s. 9 (a) of Act 20 of 2009 w.e.f. 1 January 2011; s. 7 (a) of Act 37 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 December 2011; s. 10 (a) of Act 26 of 2012 w.e.f. 22 December 2012; s. 21 (a) of Act 9 of 2015 w.e.f. 14 May 2015 and 1 July 2015; s. 25 (a) of Act 18 of 2016 w.e.f. 7 September 2016.] PART II – THE GAMBLING REGULATORY AUTHORITY